Baby dies in apparent drowning at Quincy home

Monday

The state medical examiner’s office has determined following an autopsy that a 9-month-old girl likely drowned in a bucket containing cleaning solution.

A 9-month-old girl likely died by drowning at her Sumner Street home.

The state medical examiner’s office made the determination on Sunday following an autopsy.

The baby is believed to have drowned on Saturday morning in a bucket containing cleaning solution.

The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the baby’s death. No charges have been filed.

No signs of other trauma were found, officials said.

Authorities are waiting the results of toxicology and other tests before issuing a final report.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Social Services has since removed the little girl’s 2-year-old brother from the family’s apartment in the city’s Quincy Point section following the incident.

A spokesman for the agency could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

Several neighbors on Sunday either declined to be interviewed or said they did not know the family.

“Pray for the family. That’s all you can do,” an elderly neighbor said.

According to reports, the mother was identified as 20-year-old Lee Ann Auperlee. She reportedly was watching television as her son and another 2-year-old boy played and her daughter crawled on the living room floor.

The baby apparently later crawled into the kitchen and fell into a pail filled with cleaning solution.

Life-saving techniques failed to revive the baby, who was pronounced dead at Quincy Medical Center.

Dennis Tatz of The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Mass.) may be reached at dtatz@ledger.com.